Liquid dispensing apparatus



T. L. TlTus 2,169,454

LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 28, 193s s sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 15, 1939 o "ll/111111,'

1,939 T. l.. Trrus 2,169,454

LIQID DISPENSING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1938 #flor/vegas I Aug.15,1939 T. ...mmsl 2,169,454

LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,1s,454 Y noun) nTsPENsING Arrsnarns,

Thomas L. Titus, Denver, Colo., assignor to The Wyott Manufacturing Company, Cheyenne, Wyo., a corporation of Wyoming Application December 28, 1838, Serial No. 248,093 12 claims. v(ci. zal-101) This invention relates to improvement inK apparatus for dispensing predetermined quantities of liquids, and will be described interms of its application in the dispensing of cream, for which it is especially useful. y

Objects of 4the invention are, in a device for the ejection of a predetermined charge of liquid by gravity of the liquid accelerated by the weight of a piston, to provide (a) eiiicient but simple,

)il inexpensive, and durablevmeans for the predetermination and ejection of such charge; (h) a. structure all parts of which are readily accessible for cleaning; (c) improved means for facilitating the manual operation of the device for the ejection of the charge and for the predetermination of the amount thereof.

With these and other objects in view, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a central vertical section of the lower portion of a container including the structure comprising this invention, the parts being shown at rest after ejecting a charge.

Fig.`2 is the same as Fig. 1, except that the parts are shown in raised position ready to begin the ejection of the charge.

Fig. 3 is a view like Fig. 1, but showing the complete container and its complete standard and illustrating a; modification of the ejectingA mechanism adapted for operation by a downward movement ofthe spout.

Fig. 4 is a fragment of Fig. 3, showing the spout and associated parts at the limit of the down stroke, thev piston being shown approximately midway of its down stroke.

Fig. 5 is affragment, enlarged, of the spout .m and piston stem and their respective valve seat and valve as embodied in Figs. 1, 2 and 8.

Fig. 6 is a section of line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a fragment of the spout structure in Figs. 3 Aand 4. ,Y

Fig. 8 is the same as Fig. 1, except that it illustrates a modification of the spout operating mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a view partly in plan and partly in section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a section on line Ill-I0 of Fig. 9.`

Upon a standard I, supported uprightly by any suitable means as elongated base 2, I mount a container 3 preferably having an enclosing casing I spaced from container 3 for the accommodation of ice, insulation or other material gen- .beveled as at I9, asabove mentioned, to form a 50 erally indicated at `5, the whole .being connected' with and supported upon standard I by any suitable bracket indicated at 6.

Container 3 may be as high as, and the upper portion thereof aslarge in diameter as and oi 5 any shape, desired, the.' diameter of the lower portion being coordinated with the piston and of any size convenient and suitable for the purpose hereinafter described. K r

The bottom of container 3 is preferably prol0 vided with a sump 1 from which depends tubular boss 8 provided with a comparatively large bore 9 in its upper portion and a small bore Iliin its lower portion, the annular beveled'shoulder Il being provided atthe point of change in bore. ,l5

Piston I2, positioned inVA said container 3, yis made of any suitable material and is of suiiiciently smaller diameter than container' 3 to allow cream to pass between its edge and the wall of container 3, approximately ,7,15 of an inch 20 clearance being found practical for use in dispensing ordinary cream.

Piston rod or stem I3, fixed centrally to the under side of piston I2, is formed with a plurality of faces I4, the joints I5 between the faces 25 being preferably rounded whereby to aiord a freely sliding fit of stem I3 Within the large bore 9 of boss 8, the lower end of stem I3 being formed into a valve element I6 preferably by being cone shaped, as illustrated, the co-mating valve ele-v 30' ment being aiorded by the beveled upper end of the bore of spout I1 reciprocally mounted in small bore I0 of the boss 8. But in case of absence of spout I'I or in case the top of the spout is below shoulder I I, then the bevel of shoulder 35 II serves as a valve seat. The piston I2 and/orl its stem I3 will be formed of material which is heavy by comparison with the specific gravity of the liquid being dispensed, whereby to exert pressure upon the liquid beneath the piston. It 40 will be understood that up to this point the description applies equally to all illustrated embodiments.

In the preferred embodiments illustrated at Figs. 1, 2,5,'8 and 10, the spout II is provided 45 with an annular flange I8 adapted to seat on the shoulder II to limitI the downward movement of the spout Il, the top of the bore of spout I'I being seat for valve element I6.

In the embodiment illustrated at Figs. 1, 2 and 5, spout II is of unfiorm diameter throughout except for the ilange I8 and, in all embodiments, the spout terminates at its lower end in a thin 55 edge 2l in order to minimize the surface on which liquid can accumulate and cause dripping.

For operation of the piston-valve-spoutmechanism above described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, there is provided an annularly channeled operating nut 2| adapted to be set upon the spout I1 by suitable means as by set screw 22. A lever 23, fulcrumed in standard I, as 'at 23, engages channel 2l' or nut 2I, said lever being preferably double so as to engage the channel 2l' on both 'sides of the nut 2|v whereby an upward pressure on the outer end of the lever 23 will raise spout I1, stem I3 and piston I2.

To limit the upward stroke of spout I1 and the associated parts above described, adjustable limiting mechanism is provided comprising threaded pin 24 depending from bracket `25 surrounding boss 8 and clamped in position by nut 26 threaded onto boss 8. Adjusting nut 21 is threaded on pin 24 and may be set at any point desired whereby to limit the upward stroke of spout I1 to the point at which nut 2l contacts nut 21 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The length of the stroke determines the size of the charge which will be ejected.

Suitable resilient means 28 are provided for accelerating the downward stroke of lever'23 andv spout I1 and associated parts when the upward pressure is removed from the outer end of lever 23.

I 'he operation of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is as follows:

Nut 21 is set at the desired point, which can readily be determined by trial ejection of a few charges. It isv assumed that a supply of cream is in container 3. Lever 23 is raised by the hand of the operator beneath the outer end of the lever. This raises spout I1, stem I3 and piston I2 to the position shown in Fig. 2, at which time it'will be understood that the space in container 3 below piston I2 will be lled with cream which has flowed downwards around the periphery of the v piston. The upward pressure is removed from the lever 23, whereupon the weight of the lever 23, nut 2| and spout I1 accelerated by the resilient means 28 will cause the spout and said associated parts to drop practically instantaneously, to the position shown in Fig. 1. but the downward movement of the piston I2 and stem I3 will be retarded by the cream beneath the piston, a part of which will pass downwardly through bore 3 along the at faces I4 of the stem I3 and downwardly n through spout I1 while someof the cream will pass upwardly around the periphery of the piston. The downward movement of the piston and s .ofthe cream around the piston stem continues until the valve element I8 seats on the valve seat I9., whereupon the flow is instantaneously cut of! and the device is readyfor a repeat operation.- 'Ihe actual time elapsing between the dropping of spout I1 and asociated parts to the lower position as-illustrated in Fig. 1, and the end of the down stroke of piston l2 and stem I3, is very small but the interval is still sumcient to permit the predetermined charge of cream to drop from the lower end of spout I1. l Spout I1 has a freely sliding but cream tight fit in borev Il. Flange I8 forms a positive seal l .when seated on shoulder I I, but there is sufilcient clearance between ange Il and bore! to allow any cream which may be beneath flange I8 when it is seating upon the shoulder to pass upwardlyA spout I1. spout I1 is drawn to practicallyK an Aannular knife edge at the bottom thus eliminating surface for the accumulation of cream with its resulting drip.v

In Figs. 3 and'4 there is illustrated a modification of the ejecting mechanism. In this modiilcation the piston, spout and associated parts are held normally in the extreme upward position and the ejection is accomplished by forcing'the lever downwardly instead of upwardly. In this embodiment the resilient element 28 is reversed, be-

p ing placed below the lever 23 so as to force the same upwardly. The nut 2| is reversed so as to bring its attened face underneath where it will contact nut 21 which is adjusted on pin 24 t0 limit the downward stroke of lever 23 to the point f which will permit the ejection of thel desired 48' is provided in the lower end of boss 8. Also in this embodiment the upper end of spout I1 is not provided with the flange I8 but is smooth so that it may be withdrawn through the lower end of In case of such withdrawal of spout I1 while container 3 is charged, valve element I8 will seat on the bevel of shoulder II and'prevent loss of liquid and it will be understood that the device may be constructed or adjusted so that the upper end of spout I1 will be below shoulder II at least a part of the time and that in such case bevelled shoulder II will act as a normal valve seat for valve element I6.

To operate this embodiment the lever 23 is pressed downward as rapidly as .possible until nut 2l contacts nut 21 stopping the downward motion. As in the other embodiment, the cream below piston I2 retards the downward movement of the piston and stem I3 so that'cream flows throughbore 9 along the faces of the stem I3 and down through the spout until the piston drops and again seats its valve element I6 in the seat I3 in the upper end of spout I1, or on bevelled shoulder Il as the case may be, whereupon the now is cut `off as described in connection with the embodiment in Figs. l and 2. Thereupon thedownward pressure is released from the lever 23and the resilient element 28 returns the lever 23 and associated parts including the spout I1 and piston I2 with its stem I3 to the extreme upward position. as shown in Fig. 3 ready for another operation.

It will lbe understood that with this embodiment it is possible, in actual operation, to eject a charge less than the predetermined amount by releasing lever 23 before'it reaches the limit of ,the down stroke whereupon spring 28 returns -spout I1 to contact with valve element I8 thus Vstopping the flow prematurely.

The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 operates in the same manner as the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 but in place of the resilient element 28 for accelerating the downward stroke of the lever 23 a weighted handle 29 isprovided on the outer end of the lever and a modified structure is provided for forming engagement between the lever 23 and the spout I1, this structure comprising a ring 38 havinga rib 34| of triangular cross-section adapted for a sliding their ends 34 from engagement with standard I and withdrawing pins 33 from the annular groove 32 whereby to permit the withdrawal of spout Il from the ring 30.

'I'he lower end of spout Il is preferably beveled y on the outside as at 35 so that it may be inserted inring 30, wedging apart the pins 33 and permitting the insertion of the spout l1 into the ring 30 in the position shown in Fig. 10, in which position the pins 33 will snap into the annular groove 32 to hold the ring in engagement with the spout I'I.

The operation of this embodiment is the same as the above described operation of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the upward pressure on the lever being normally applied to the under side of weighted handle 29 which serves to accelerate the downward motion in place of the resilient element 28. At the end of the upward stroke the ring 30 will contact the nut 21 thus limiting the upward stroke.

It will be noted that each embodiment automatically, and without special structure therefor, eliminates suction which would result in drawing air into the liquid while preventing all unintentional flow of liquid out of the container.

While I have illustrated and described many details of construction, it will be understood that various equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art, and I do not wish to be restricted to the details of structure described and illustrated.

I claim:

1. In a liquid dispenser, a containerl a piston reciprocable therein, means to permit flow of liquid past the piston within the container, a tubular boss having a larger bore in its upper portion leading downward from the bottom of the container and a smaller bore continuing in alignment with the larger bore and leading therefrom to the lower end of the boss, a stem reciprocable in said larger bore ailixed at its upper end to said piston and having a valve element at its lower end, a spout freely reciprocable but with a liquid tight nt within said smaller bore and having in its upper end a valye element co-mating with said stem valve element, and passageway for liquid along said stem within said larger bore.

2. In a liquid dispenser, a container, a piston reciprocable therein, clearance around the piston periphery to permit the flow of liquid therepast, a tubular boss having a larger bore in its upper portion leading downward from the bottom of the container and a smaller bore continuing in alignment with the larger bore and leading therefrom to the lower end of the boss, a stem reciprocable in said larger bore ailixed at its upper end to said piston and having a valve' element at its lower end, a spout freely reciprocable but with a liquid tight t within said smaller bore and having in its upper end a valve element co-mating with said stem valve element, passageway for liquid along said stem within said larger bore.'

3. In a liquid dispenser, a container, a piston reciprocable therein, means to permit flow of liquid past the piston within the container, a tubular boss having a larger bore in its upper portion leading downward from the bottom of the container and a smaller bore continuingv in alignment with the larger bore and leading therefrom to the lower end of the boss, a stem reciprocable in said larger bore aillxed at its upper end to said piston and having a valve element at `its lower end, a spout freely reciprocable but with a liquid tight t within said smaller bore andl having fn its upper end a valve element co-mating with said stem valve element and a co-mating valve element at the upper end of said smaller bore for the seating of said stem-valve-,element wherever, the upper end of the spout does not intervene.

' 4. In a structure as defined in claim 1, means for reciprocating the spout and means for pre- 'determination of the quantity of liquid to be ermost position and an adjustable stop limiting.

the upward movement of the spout.

5. In a structure as dened in claim l, means for reciprocating the spout and means for predetermination of the quantity of liquid to be ejected comprising a flange on the upper end of the spout for limiting the downward `movement of the spout, yieldable means adapted to accelerate the downward movement of the spout and to yieldably retain the spout in its lowermost position and an adjustable stop limiting'the upward movement ofthe spout.-

6. In a structure as dened in claim 1, means vfor reciproca-ting the spout and means for predetermination of the quantity of liquid to be ejected comprising a stop limiting the upward movement of the spout, means adapted to move said spout toward and resiliently hold it in its uppermost position and an adjustable stop limiting the downward movement of the spout.

'7. In a structure as defined in claim 1, means -for reciprocating the spout and means for prestandard and pivotally connected with the spout' whereby to afford convenient means for raising the spout and to accelerate the dropping of the spout.

9. In a liquid dispenser having a depending reciprocable spout and a lever forreciprocating the spout, means for pivotally but detachably connecting the lever and the spout comprising a ring having a sliding t over the spout, an anular groove in the spout,` pins reciprocably mounted in opposite sides of said ring and normally projected into said groove, said lever having resilient arms 4slidably engaging said pins, whereby to retract said pins from said groove by springing apart the said arms.

10. In a liquid dispenser having a depending reciprocable spout and a lever for reciprocating the spout, means for pivotally but detachably connecting the lever and the spout comprising a ring having a sliding iit over the spout, an annular-groove in the spout, pins reciprocably and 75 rotatably mounted in opposite sides of said ring and normally projected into said groove, said lever having resilient arms slidably engaging said pins, whereby to retract said pins from said groove by springing apart the said arms.

11. In a liquid dispenser, a vertical container, a depending boss having a bore leading from the bottom of the container to the bottom of the` boss, a spout reciprocable in the lower part of the bore and having a liquid tight lit therein and a valve seat at its upper end, a stem reciprocable in the upper part of said bore and having a valve element adapted to nt said seat, passageway for liquid from the container past said stem within said bore and a piston alxed to the upper part of said stem within said container. means to restrictedly permit liquid to pass said piston as it reciprocates within th'e container whereby to m1 the space beneath the piston with liquid Yfor ama-1.54

.the spout is quickly retracted downwardly.

12.4In a liquid dispenser having a container I with a vertical outlet tube from the container bottom, a spout freely reciprocable but with a liquid tight t in the lower part of the tube and having a valve seat in its upper end, a plunger reciprocable in said tube above said spout and having a valve element on its lower end whereby the plunger will normally seat on `the spout and close the valve and remain in valve-closed positionwhilethe spout is stationary or being lifted, passageway along the plunger within the tube for passage of liquid from the container to thel valve and means to retard the downward movement of the plunger and open the valve when the spout is dropped.

THOMAS L. 'I'ITUS. 

